GAME REPORT

Ural Great Blow Out Proteas To Stay Alive In EuroChallenge

Ural Great Perm kept their hopes of progressing to the Quarter-Finals in the EuroChallenge alive with an 83-57 home triumph over Proteas EKA AEL in the Top 16.

Vanja Plisnic scored 14 points and hauled in 11 rebounds to lead the Russian team, who improved to 2-3 in Group K.

Proteas, having qualified last week for the final eight with their fourth straight victory, dropped to 4-1.

The visitors led 41-40 with 7:22 remaining in the third quarter following a three-pointer by Haris Mujezinovic but Ural Great replied with a 16-2 run to finish the frame.

That gave them a 56-43 advantage.

Ralph Biggs' first three points of the game on a shot from the arc with 6:21 to go in the third period put Ural Great on top for good.

The coach of the Perm outfit, Aleksandar Kesar, then breathed a sigh of relief as his team opened the fourth quarter with an 11-1 run to put the result beyond doubt.

Darius Vashington contributed 13 points, Jumaine Jones 11 and Sergey Chernov 10 for Ural Great, who must win at Cajasol Sevilla next week and hope that other results go their way.

Proteas, just two of 16 from long range, got 13 points apiece from Mujezinovic and Quincy Taylor.

COACH QUOTES

Ural Great Perm vs. Proteas EKA AEL Quotes

Dragan Raca, Coach of Proteas EKA AEL:

"Today my team lacked concentration. We won all previous games in our group and we had a 27-point win against Ural Great in Cyprus. So my players played today as if it was a friendly game. This cannot happen. When you lack concentration you have results like today, but we have to learn through defeats as well."

Haris Mujezinovic, Player of Proteas EKA AEL:

"Our team is young. Victories don’t come easily. You have to play hard in every game. You have to play for your personal pride even if the game is not important for your qualification. Ural Great is struggling for survival. I think they will not qualify from our group. But they have a new coach and good players. They have to and can improve, so I wish them luck in their national championship."

Aleksandar Kesar, Coach of Ural Great:

"I am very glad with our win today. This is how we should play every game. I did not expect us to win by so big a difference tonight. Proteas is a very good team with experienced players. But my players showed their devotion and played their best today. I thank them for that."

Darius Vashington, Player of Ural Great:

"Our new coach came and we had a meeting with him. He told us what he expects from everyone. Everybody knows where he should be at every moment of the game, so it became easier to communicate on court. We tried to play with full heart and are glad with the result."